Messages - CraigStern

I've made some last-minute arrangements to exhibit True Messiah at PAX West! This turned out to be way more time-consuming and difficult than I wanted it to be, but what can ya do. I also posted a job listing seeking 3D modelers to replace the dude who bailed.

--programmed shadowling portrait generation, now determining placement data for all facial features

Spent the last couple of days of last week tackling my IndieRPGs.com backlog--work's pretty nuts this week, so there may not be much to report until next week. Still, an AI test I performed on Saturday went well! I should be able to start tackling the long-distance planning part of the AI soon.

Got the rough drafts of commissioned castle wall assets; gave feedback on those, as well as shadowling portrait assets and initial drafts of a new musical track.

--when calculating base target values, the AI engine now looks ahead to determine if enemies are going to die on their own on the next turn via environmental effects, status effects, or a combination of the two. If so, the AI will drop that target's base value to 0 so that it doesn't waste actions on attacking that character.

--the AI now accounts for the potential environmental damage resulting from a knockback move, comparing it to the environmental damage the target is already due to take next turn on its current space.

--the AI now accounts for whether an attack will draw a counterattack, and factors in the amount of damage the unit will receive in the process.

--improved the algorithm so that it disregards a target's inherent value for purposes of scoring a move if the skill it's checking won't actually do anything useful to the target (i.e. won't damage it, cause environmental damage, or at least impart a status effect).

--the AI now makes a rudimentary check to determine, roughly, how much potential damage it's exposing itself to by moving to a space, then factors that in when deciding how much it wants to make a given move.

--improved the formula the AI uses when taking attack accuracy into account when deciding on a move.

--got the rough drafts of the first set of commissioned wall assets into the game to mess around with; adjusted the game's lighting, shaders, and "space height" parameters so that the 3D and 2D assets look like they belong together in the scene.